PAEA’s 2016 award winners were honored at the Education Forum in Minneapolis.

One of the highlights of every Education Forum is the awards ceremony, where we honor those who have made noteworthy contributions to PA education and the PA profession. This year was no different.

Six hundred Forum attendees joined us on Friday, October 14, to celebrate the accomplishments of eight outstanding people and eight PA programs from across the country.

In addition to the annual awards, we also took the time to honor our CEO, Timi Agar Barwick, on her 25th anniversary with PAEA. “Timi has served as a strong, vocal, and unwavering advocate on behalf of PA education and PA programs,” said President Jennifer Snyder. “We want to recognize Timi’s 25 years of service — and we want to do this in a way that best reflects her advocacy on behalf of PA education and her relationship-focused approach.”

With an initial $25,000 investment from the Board of Directors and past presidents, we have established a permanently endowed PA Foundation scholarship for PA students. The “Timi Agar Barwick Scholarship for Humanism in Medicine” will provide $1,000 each year to a PA student who exemplifies a benevolent and compassionate approach to patient care.

President Snyder said, “Timi takes pride in building a personal connection with all of our members. She has drawn on those connections to advance PAEA’s mission and agenda over the years, bringing people together, opening doors for PA education at the national level, raising the level of conversation and setting a high bar, and helping PAEA grow into the respected institution it is today.”

Thank you, Timi, for your service, and congratulations to all of our 2016 award recipients!

Morgan, Everett, and Hing’s Healthcare article, “Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants, and Physicians in Community Health Centers, 2006-2010,” shows an extraordinary trend in the reliance on PAs and NPs to deliver care to the underserved. The study highlights PAs as a crucial part of primary care efforts at community health centers and has implications for how to best build teams of providers for maximum effectiveness.

Everett was recognized for her commitment to innovative, precise methodology and her ability to collaborate on impactful research with colleagues across the spectrum of health care. Since 2009, she has authored or co-authored 18 peer-reviewed articles that have been published in several prestigious journals including Healthcare, Health Affairs, JPAE, and JAAPA.

Excellence Through Diversity AwardThe University of Oklahoma – Tulsa PA Program

At the University of Oklahoma – Tulsa PA Program, students participate in programs that allow them to interact with patients, health care providers, and community agencies to learn more about poverty and the needs of the underserved around them. In summer, they host MASH Camp, where high school students from underrepresented minority groups visit for a week-long introduction to health careers. Since the program began in 2008, it has enrolled about 17 percent minority students, about half of whom are Native Americans.

Partnership AwardPA Olympics

The PA Olympics is a partnership between seven Philadelphia-area schools: Arcadia University, DeSales University, Drexel University, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Philadelphia University, Salus University, and University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. The group was recognized for bringing student leadership and faculty expertise from multiple programs together for charity and service engagement. To date, they have raised over $56,000 for 14 local student-selected charities.

Dettmann was recognized for her role in vetting and securing 500 domestic and international clinical sites for MCPHS’ three campuses. She has also been instrumental in creating and growing a successful international clinical rotation program in Bolivia. Dettmann also translated PAEA’s Preceptor Orientation Manual into Spanish for dissemination to international clinical preceptors and serves as a member of PAEA’s Cultural Competencies Committee.

Administrative Support Staff AwardMarie Link
Saint Francis University

For 25 years, Link has been the go-to person for help in the Saint Francis Department of PA Sciences, especially when it comes to implementing and troubleshooting new technology. Before it was taken over by PAEA’s Research Department, she co-authored the Annual Report on PA Educational Programs in the United States. She spearheaded the Saint Francis program’s adoption of CASPA and personally reviews each of the 850 applications, building relationships with students that her colleagues admire.

New Faculty Award for Professional ExcellenceJay Metzger, MPAS, PA-C
University of North Dakota

Though he is new to the PA education realm, Metzger has already made his mark on the University of North Dakota PA program. He has served as course director for classes from primary care to general surgery, plans all didactic schedules, and teaches a full week of trauma curriculum affectionately referred to by students and faculty as “Jay Week.” He is also credited with identifying innovative teaching methods and taking the lead on test question revision and creation, making him indispensable to his colleagues.

Maday is the creator of the PAINE Podcast, which discusses important medical topics in a way that is accessible for even the busiest PAs. By integrating technology and social media into his lectures and life, he has made an exponential impact, not only in his home state of Alabama, but around the world.

For 25 years, Kenney-Moore has been an inspiration to her colleagues. She has worked tirelessly to improve the educational experience for students and always has their best interests at heart. She was also instrumental in gaining membership for PAs with the Oregon Medical Association and became the first non-physician member of their Board of Trustees.

Since the beginning his PA career in 1978, Pedersen has made countless contributions to the profession. At the University of Utah, he took a struggling PA program from the brink of extinction to one consistently recognized as one of the top five in the country. He was founder and editor-in-chief of what is now the Journal of Physician Assistant Education, and has written dozens of book chapters and articles —including a paper that remains a model PA forecasting study. Don also volunteers his time for domestic and international relief work, having visited Thailand and Nepal after natural disasters to provide aid. As Alfred M. Sadler, Jr., immediate past president of the PA History Society, said, “He is a generous exemplar of leadership with humility — a quality far too rare in our world today.”

“It never ceases to impress me how hard PA educators work and how much we achieve by working together,” said President-Elect Bill Kohlhepp. The 2017 award nomination cycle will begin in January 2017, so stay tuned.

Meredith Wise

Meredith Wise is the manager of communications for the Physician Assistant Education Association. She has a background in communications and joined PAEA in 2016.

Recent Stories

About PAEA®

The Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) is the only national organization representing PA educational programs. PAEA works to ensure quality PA education through the development and distribution of educational services and products specifically geared toward meeting the emerging needs of PA programs, the PA profession, and the health care industry.